Bradley Denton's Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede starts off stupid but ends up well. On a chilly February night in 1989, Oliver Vale is watching television at home when Buddy Holly suddenly appears on the set, strumming a guitar with the curious skies of Ganymede in the background. The only problem is that Holly is dead, and no human has ever been to Ganymede. Things only get worse when Oliver realizes that the Holly is being broadcast throughout the world, in every country--and that Holly is asking for Oliver by name.

It just so happens that Buddy Holly is Oliver Vale's childhood idol, and so Oliver throws on a ridiculous "moonsuit" and sets out to figure out just what the hell is going on. Let me say, right at the outset, that what he finds is sheer idiocy: it involves an alien conspiracy, a cyborg dog, and a conversation between two humanoids who happen to look like Dwight D. Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev. Oh yes, there is also a government assassin, a religious revival, and a lawyer (married to a psychologist) who discovers his wild side.

This may all sound very interesting, but the truth is that the first half of the book is hideously boring. Part of the problem is Oliver, who is so kooky that it's hard to relate when he breaks out into cold sweats in anticipation of actually talking to other people. The plot is also pretty aimless at the outset; Oliver wanders around the country, being chased by all sorts of forces (his psychologist, the police, religious fanatics, aliens); and he keeps having really bad luck with the strangers he meets. Suffice it to say that about a third of the way through the book, I put it down, mad as hell about having wasted my time with this piece of trash.

I don't know what made me pick the book back up, but I'm glad I did. About halfway through, Buddy Holly suddenly hits its groove. The most significant factor, I think, is the introduction of about a half dozen characters (and one dog) who add some genuine feeling into the story. From that point on, the book becomes an amusing race to the finish line, pitting Oliver Vale and his friends against a horde of human and nonhuman enemies.

The result is a warm, funny story about a lonely man (Oliver) who lucks upon a group of big-hearted friends during the weirdest adventure of his life. That makes Buddy Holly just about the strangest genuinely feel-good novel that I've ever read.

Copyright © 2005 Steven Wu